We'd pitched our tent close to the creek and the rushing of the water over the little rapids just downstream was a soothing sound that made for peace-filled sleep. Just the night before we'd been sleeping in a dorm with a couple of dozen bunk beds occupied by others who'd come to the Appalachian Mountains to work. A week repairing houses and painting barns in the deep humidity of Kentucky, living in a community of friendly strangers had been great but we were eager to get on with our vacation and had headed to the nearby Smoky Mountains.

The contrast was surreal. The calm, quiet and solitude were more needed than we had realized. The first morning we woke to rain. Well, every morning we woke to rain. We'd planned to do a lot of hiking but with the threat of rain looming

and the incredible humidity, only managed two good hikes. Vince was so sweaty after he looked as if he'd been through a rain shower! One cloudy morning we were driving around when we came across a path to Lookout Tower. We walked up the path and up the tower to see the view and all we could see were clouds below us... but above was blue sky!

The next day, cloudy again! We took the same path up to the tower and discovered a much clearer view of our surroundings and it was beautiful! We decided it wasn't going to rain any more and trotted back down to do some hiking.

That was the day we took our long hike. The trail to Abrams Falls was closed due to "bear activity" so we missed out on that but we found another that led us up to the heights and down in the valleys. We were so deep in the woods that at one point it was almost spooky. We never saw a sign of another person all day! If felt good to be so free and wild. There were interesting things of nature all around us.

We love camp cooking and we and some wonderful meals, some of which we ate under a lean-to as we watched the rain speckle the creek. We tried out a couple of new recipe ideas I'd found on the internet and they definitely earned their way onto our camp menu in the future. On the way down the highway we had stopped at a flea market where we ended up purchasing quite a bit of local produce.

We did end up leaving a couple of days early. We saw some great views, met many nice and friendly people and discovered much to love about the region. The rain, oppressive heat and humidity finally got to us though and we were ready to head home (to much of the same, more rain, heat and humidity).

Life is good.

The walking tunnel into







Cuyahoga Valley National Park:

It was hot and humid and the sky darkened while we walked, as if the skies would open up at any moment and drench us. It was then we came upon Icebox Cave.

No kidding.

I sat down by the seawall watching the sun rise. Angus and I had been at The Lake of the Ozarks for two days. Our hosts, my brother and sister-in-law had headed back home the evening before and we had the large lake house to ourselves for a few days.
I was content and happysitting in the quiet morning light, trying not to notice the hulking frame of concrete and steel rising off to the Southeast. We are on Ship’s Point. The point just to the East of this one… the one that this house faces, has always left us with a beautiful view of a lovely, grassy point with small trees… no house, no people, not even a dock.

The original house had burnt down over 40 years ago, leaving only the brick chimney standing, and nothing had ever been rebuilt. “Chimney Point”. Years ago the “For Sale” sign went up but the asking price was high so it remained the same year after year. Several years ago it finally sold. The rumor was condos. And sure enough we began to notice changes when we went down. A sea wall was built. Trees were bulldozed and the grasses scraped away. Construction began a building was erected. Now, this year, the condo is taking shape.

In only a few more minutes I knew that the clanking, groaning and grinding of the heavy equipment would break the silence. The banging and shouting of the workers would begin and last ‘til 4 pm when the construction crew would leave the giant steel skeleton behind as they crawl into their pickups weary from their hard work in the July heat.

I was drinking my coffee, watching the sun appear above the mist and later disappear into the clouds. Enjoying the peace and the solitude. Not wanting to think about the changes to this peaceful point once the condo is finished.

It occurred to me that it was Thursday and that Jetty Betty would be writing her “Thursday Thanksgivings” and finding wonderful things to be thankful for even in the midst of whatever turmoil and disappointment is in her life. She’d be looking at the good side of things. I started thinking about all the good in my life. I starting thinking about all the good times we’ve had down here over the last 29 years with friends and family.

Angus and I took long weekends in the incredible peace and solitude of the lake house in winter. Reading and watching the view and the rare speedboat pass by the picture windows. We cooked elaborate meals, ate slowly and did the dishes side by side. We were undisturbed by the temptations of TV and computers and telephones. The decisions were whether to put on Eric Clapton or Jimmie Spheeris as we sat by the fire in the evenings dreamily watching the flames and sipping a glass of wine.

We’d go to bed early and sleep late. And because it was The Lake House it was especially romantic… like a fancy secluded resort, yet as familiar as home.

When the kids were little we spent a Fourth of July watching the fireworks put on at the Four Seasons Resort across the Lake. We had a perfect view from our lawn chairs by the water and we didn’t even have to be a part of the flotilla of boats out there watching, too. The kids giggled as they drew golden circles in the black night with their sparklers and after the fireworks they watched to boats pull away one by one.

One year Angus’ family decided to have Thanksgiving at The Lake. We all sat together at the long Ponderosa-style table laughing and enjoying one another. No late arrivals or fast escapes... just acceptance.

The Lake is where I first really got to know Angus’ family. What’s to do but talk as you sunbathe and watch the kids, cooking and eating together? It’s where I first learned of the Mc’s “10 O’clock Rule“. The men would get up early to fish and do any yard work before the summer heat set in. They’d keep an eye on the time for at 10:00 a.m. it is okay to have your first beer of the day. I don’t know who made the rule; it preceded my entry into the family.

The boys floated in life jackets in the waves from the passing boats pretending they were in the ocean while we mamas laid in the sun on the rocking dock. They picked wild flowers along the gravel road. In later years they jumped off the roof of the dock into the deep water. They jet skied in the cove ‘til their legs ached. They’ve blown leaves with the powerful backpack leaf blowers onto a tarp to be pulled to the water’s edge and dumped, jumping into the ice cold water to cool off and to prove they were men.

They caught lightening bugs with their cousins who are grown now. They caught fish with their grandfather who is gone now.

Everything changes.

I contemplated the sunrise and my memories, feeling both happiness for the beautiful past and regret for what never will be again. The looming mass of condo reminded me that change is always coming and a lot of times it is out of our control, it‘s not what we want... But life goes on.

It made me value the “right now” a little bit more, appreciate the past a lot more and look forward to whatever happens next with hope. The unpredictability of life is what makes it both scary and fascinating. It makes us work harder, dream bigger and love better. It pops us out of our ruts and into the sunshine or into the mud.

This day, I’m in the sunshine and will take advantage of today. I know the mud is there waiting to pull me down so I’ll look up… trust God to get me through it when the time comes.

Life is good… and I believe that with all my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy.”
~Milton Erickson, M.D.

It's so good to be back. While Angus was on vacation we took several days at The Lake ( around here that means Ozarks) and then traveled to my Family Reunion in Michigan, taking a slow journey. The drive home was straight through, 12 hours, arriving home around midnight. I wish all of you could have the sweet kind of homecoming that I had.

I was so weary from sitting in the car. I am a fidgety person and I have Restless Leg Syndrome, too. (I am not sure if the two are related.) It is impossible for me to sit still for very long. When I was a kid in church my grandmother was constantly reaching over to gently lay her hand on my knees... the signal to stop swinging my feet. I tried.

In the car I sit most often with my feet up on the dash board or crosslegged in the seat, sometimes stretching my short legs out straight on the floor, changing positions after a few minutes. My husband is used to this and can even tell when it is time for me to stop and take a walk.

Anyway, for me, it's all about the destination and when the destination is "home" I can't be there soon enough. Finally, we made it. The lights of the house were on and there were three college-girl friends of ours watching a movie while waiting for us. They jumped up and welcomed us with long hugs. The house smelled of baking and cinnamon and was shiny clean!

Last Thursday, five of the girls had come over and did a load of laundry, picked up after Kevin who had just left for The Lake, vacuumed, scrubbed the kitchen floor, and cleaned the oven (I don't think I'd ever done that). The day we arrived home they baked while they waited for us to return... Choco-chip Cookies, Dump Cake and Cinnamon Bread ( still warm).

Oh, to be loved like that! It felt so good!

Around here we have a pretty-much have an "Open House" policy all the time. Anyone is welcome anytime... as long as they can stand not being treated like company. The teens and young adults stop by often even though we live way out in the country. It's a place they can get away to. We don't have a huge house and many times I go up to my room early so I won't have to watch/listen to whatever inane movie they have on.

I don't know why they come other than that they can. On Sunday, around midnight, I was so glad they had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you Jessica, Brook, Courtney, Danielle, and Sara! I love you.

Bringing them back... that's what our annual ski trips are mostly about. Yes, Angus loves to ski and we go with friends that make the trip all the more enjoyable but what it is really about is bringing the family together again.

We've found that the boys will go to any efforts possible to make it back for the ski trip. If it's possible for them ot get off and get away; they'll be there.

It is a chance to be together with their brothers in a joyfilled event. It's an opportunity to see their Dad in a new light, too. They see their Dad having fun, not working. They see him playing... no expectations! They see their fat, ol' Dad out there showing them how beautiful skiing can be... they've mastered the game but not his finesse. They aren't father and sons as much as just men doing guy stuff. They love to ski together and ditch the girls. They bond.

I am not a part of that but I can see the joy in their eyes when they get back to the condo. They are wind-burned, limping and dog tired and the pure happiness is shining out of them.

It's a beautiful sight.

Snow tubing on the ski slopes... I loved it! We had a group of 17, no only 16 since we left Weiner in the Infirmary at the base of the mountain waiting for the Dr. to look at his brand new x-rays (broken ankle & knee).

The sky was darkening as we rode the Gondola to the top of the mountain. They told us the rules and sent us out to play. We could go down singly or in group. They'd spin you if you wanted to be spun, which I did, of course!

I slid down by myself, with Angus, with our whole group and even with a slope record-breaking group of 29. We could only get 28 people to grab on so one of the workers grabbed a tube, hooked on and shoved us off. I think he had more fun than any of us! I was near the back and could hear him laughing all the way down the hill.

My favorite slide was when I got to the top of the hill and all the women & girls in our group were waiting for me to grab on. There was five of us and they spun us and we screamed all the way down as if on a snowy rollercoaster. The silly screaming in the cold air made it all the more fun. What a release! Everyone was laughing, including all who watched. Ah, good times.

The best part of the evening though was not the exhilarating slides down the slopes but when they hooked my tubes on the pulley and I was slowly, gently pulled up the hill with a beautiful view of the snowy mountains beyond our hill. I was awestruck the first time. I felt so close to God and happiness. I used the minutes to reflect on the day, on life. I used the time to pray my gratefulness for all God has given and asking him to show me the ways I can return the favor... by showing me what I can do for him.

Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good;
his love is eternal.
Give thanks to the greatest of all gods;
his love is eternal.
Give thanks to the mightiest of all lords;
his love is eternal.
He alone performs great miracles;
his love is eternal.
By his wisdom he made the heavens;
his love is eternal.
He built the earth on the deep waters;
his love is eternal.
He made the sun and the moon;
his love is eternal.
The sun to rule over the day;
his love is eternal.
The moon and stars to rule over night;
his love is eternal.
~Psalm 136:1-9

The cars and trucks roared by as we cautiously exited the Jeep. Angus had quickly pulled off onto the shoulder near the concrete barrier of the center lanes. There had been too much traffic to try to get clear over to the shoulder in the right lane when the tire blew. We’d been on our way to the North Shore of Minnesota and hadn’t even made it through Des Moines yet!

The flat tire was on the traffic side of the car. The heat off the highway in the near 100° heat, the power and nearness of the passing vehicles, the whoosh of the wind that they generated, all left me feeling a bit fearful and helpless. Angus was calm and quiet. He gets that way when things are beyond his control and he is just trying to control his emotions. I threw up a quick prayer for our safety and we got to work.

We began pulling all of our gear out of the Jeep. The jack stores under the back seat and the tire, above the wheel well so we unloaded coolers and sleeping bags and fishing gear onto the shoulder, shoving the bags and equipment around to get to the needed items.

Before Angus had even gotten the spare out of the back I noticed flashing lights and a police officer walking toward our disabled vehicle. Immediately flow of traffic moved out of the passing lane and away from us. I was so grateful to see him and I told him so! He was very young, still pimply faced behind his mirrored sunglasses. Vince went about changing the tire and I visited with the officer and mentioned how much safer it seemed now, with the cars slowing down and moving over. He explained that there’s a state law in Iowa that one must move over away from an emergency vehicle or there’s a violation with a $200 penalty! He said they enforce the law (allowing for vehicles that are unable to safely change lanes). He told me that people are ticked off to get a ticket for that but once they are in a situation where they are stranded along side the road they see the value in it.

Angus finished up quickly and the officer sent us off to a tire store that would he knew would be open, telling us it is where he buys his own tires. He wrote the directions out on the back of his card. We bungeed the now-ragged tire to the top of the car, thanked the policeman and headed out to replace the little spare donut tire. An hour and a half and a couple hundred bucks later we were on the road again.

Surprisingly, both of us were in a great mood. I kept thinking how it had been such absolute perfect timing when that police car pulled up behind us. I wondered how much trouble we’d have had had we been farther on into Iowa, way between little small towns when the tire blew. What would the odds have been that we could find any help or a tire store open out there on a sweltering Sunday afternoon? Would there have even been a town where we could stay the night, if needed? I just know that we felt grateful and hopeful and ready for a week of togetherness and we didn’t let that dampen our spirits. God was watching out for us even on the hot pavement of the highway.

I thanked God for watching out for us even on the hot pavement of the highway…and I sent a postcard from Minnesota to the Urbandale, Iowa Police Dept.

Minnesota Vacation Pix